EVENT: Luftgekühlt 12: Atlanta, GA

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LUFT 12 | TERRIFIC CARS, TERRIBLE WEATHER

Feature coverage by Ryan Robb – Sponsored by SOUL Performance

Although Luftgekühlt means air-cooled in German, the word has taken on a second meaning in recent years; becoming synonymous with the most diehard Porsche fanatics amongst us. At Luftgekühlt 12, set in the outskirts of Atlanta, those fanatics from around the world congregated to celebrate their common love. Old Porsches.

Luftgekühlt has in recent years become one of the largest Porsche exclusive events in the World. Featuring exclusively air-cooled Porsches as the name implies, the event has taken on the same cult following as the cars it’s named after. Bringing air cooled fans everywhere from Los Angeles to Durham North Carolina, Tokyo, and as of last week Atlanta, Georgia.

Dissimilar to other Porsche exclusive events like Rare Shades or Porsche Platica, Luft’ manages to create an event that feels less like a car show and more like an experience in an entire town dedicated to Porsche.

Through the very specific and large-scale venue selection, the meticulous curation of display cars, and their signature wood boxes housing the most special pieces of Porsche history they manage to create an identity uniquely their own.

For this year’s event, Luft’ 12 took place at Trilith Studios, a 235 acre planned town just south of Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta has been Porsche Cars North America’s hub since 1998 and houses the Porsche Experience Center Atlanta (PECA), making it a city synonymous with Porsche culture in the twenty first century. An 11th hour rain delay due to Hurricane Isaias forced the event to kickstart a couple hours later than originally planned but as the rain stopped and the sun started to peek through the clouds, over 8,000 fans in attendance were belatedly rewarded with up close views of over 300 outstanding examples of air-cooled history.

A central theme is standard for all Luftgekühlt events. With Luft’ 12 taking place just 85 miles south of Road Atlanta, it was only right for some of Porsche’s most iconic race cars to take center stage, with some even sporting the Road Atlanta name across the bonnet.

This year marks fifty years of the Porsche 935 race car.

To mark the occasion Luft’ congregated four 935’s – including three raced by the Whittington Brothers sporting the iconic yellow, black, and red Road Atlanta livery – putting them on center stage in Trilith’s Shipyard. Some of the other standouts in the Shipyard included some of the most successful race cars in Porsche’s distinguished history such as the Porsche 962 C and the Dauer-Porsche 962 Le Mans.

Despite being the poster car for the event, the Road Atlanta 935 was not the star of the show. That fittingly went to the 917K used in the Steve McQueen in its famous Gulf livery. Formula One driver Jo Siffert loaned the car to McQueen in order to film the 1971 film Le Mans, giving the car the story and aura required to have a room dedicated all to itself. Once you entered the theatre it was obvious that the 917 was in a class of its own. The atmosphere at Trilith was similar to a fairground, but in the theatre it was silent as if everyone was aware of how significant and special the car is.

While the race cars we had posters of as kids are cool to see, the real highlight of Luft’ 12 was the community. As is the case with Rare Shades, Platica, and any other gathering of Porsche enthusiasts, it is the people and the cars they bring that make the event so special. Cars from Florida, Indiana, New Jersey, California, Kentucky, and more all making the pilgrimage to Trilith, sporting their Luft stickers making sure everyone could read up on the history of the owner’s vehicle.

Whether it was seeing familiar faces from our local cars and coffee or meeting new people eager to listen to our story and share their own, Luftgekühlt 12 was an event and experience unlike anything we’d ever attended. Whether you’re a luftgekühlt (in the traditional sense of the word) fanatic or a fan of the water-cooled masterpieces Porsche puts out today, Luftgekühlt 13 should definitely be on your calendar wherever and whenever it pops up next.